OAKLAND, CA - MAY 27: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors hugs Jason Terry #31 of the Houston Rockets late in the fourth quarter during game five of the Western Conference Finals of the 2015 NBA Playoffs at ORACLE Arena on May 27, 2015 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images

This past Saturday, after hitting 10 three-pointers in a win over the Kings, Warriors guard Stephen Curry wanted to keep the game ball. That is, until he learned that he was still just fourth on the NBA’s all-time threes list.

“I knew I caught Kyle (Korver), but I thought I caught Jason (Terry) and was in the top three with Reggie (Miller) and Ray (Allen),” said Curry, who would pass Terry with three three-pointers in Friday night’s game against the Bulls at Oracle Arena. “Growing up, those two guys (Miller and Allen) were the measures for three-point shooting.”

Curry has only needed 9½ seasons to rank fourth in NBA history with 2,280 three-pointers. After passing Terry, he’ll need 278 three-pointers to eclipse Miller for second and another 413 to break Allen’s record of 2,973.

When it comes to three-point shooting, Curry is in a class of his own. If he keeps his current pace (a long shot given that he’s 30), he’ll become the league’s all-time three-pointers leader in 198 games. That would give him the mark in less than 12½ NBA seasons. To shatter Miller’s record, Allen needed 18 seasons.

“I don’t think about it that much,” Curry said when asked how he felt to be within a few threes of passing Terry on the all-time list. “I just still think about it in terms of the names that I’m chasing.”

Specifically, Miller and Allen.

As a kid growing up in Charlotte, N.C., Curry learned the art of three-point shooting from his father, Dell, who hit 1,245 threes on a 40.2 percent clip in 16 NBA seasons. However, Stephen viewed Miller and Allen as the gold standard of long-range shooting.

Miller was a rookie when Stephen was born in March 1988. Eight years later, when Curry was starting to take basketball seriously, Allen entered the league.

Curry followed closely during the 2010-11 season when Allen was chasing Miller’s three-pointers record. He remembers Allen walking over to greet Miller, sitting courtside as an analyst for TNT, after Allen drained a pair of first-quarter threes against the Lakers to pass Miller on the all-time list.

“That moment was special for guys who love to shoot the basketball,” Curry said.

Curry boasts four of the top five three-pointer seasons in NBA history: 402 in 2015-16 (1), 324 in 2016-17 (2), 286 in 2014-15 (3) and 272 in 2012-13 (5). In addition to being the only player to ever lead the league in three-pointers five times, he hit at least one three-pointer in an NBA-record 157 consecutive regular-season games (Nov. 13, 2014-Nov. 3, 2016).

Now, he is only a few makes shy of joining Miller and Allen among the three most accomplished three-point shooters of all time. And when Curry does, he’ll make sure to keep the game ball.

“All those names up there, they push the needle for guys like myself and guys coming up to kind of chase those numbers,” Curry said. “So, closing in is kind of special.”

Connor Letourneau moved to the Golden State Warriors beat in September 2016 after a year covering Cal. Previously, he spent two years covering the Oregon State Beavers for The Oregonian. Letourneau is a University of Maryland alum who has interned for The Baltimore Sun and blogged for The New York Times. A Portland, Ore., native, he is interested in telling the stories that extend beyond the field or court.